Search Engines are getting smarter and smarter with every passing day and it requires search engine optimizers to stay on top of the latest trends to stay competitive. And, obviously, like everything else, trends keep changing even in SEO as well. So, to help you keep your SEO on the right track this year, here we have some of the top trends in SEO that you should be following. Let’s take a look.
1. Voice Search & Digital Assistants
Voice search has really changed the way people used to communicate and digital assistants have changed the way how searches are performed. Google already admits that one of every five searches are made through voice queries.
In 2018, we expect a greater shift towards voice searches. As for putting together your SEO strategy, you should now focus on long-tail keywords more than ever. Try to target natural language terms that match the conversational tone of the users. As we see digital assistants getting more accurate, increasing numbers of people will be expected to use voice search in the bid to get more relevant and quick answers.
2. Link Building
We don’t see link building going away pretty soon. However, there will be more emphasis on setting up a proper strategy for getting more quality links. You shouldn’t be looking forward to getting new links that do not offer any value. Obviously, your aim is to build authority in the niche you’re targeting and if the links are not helping you with that there’s no point in wasting your time and efforts in getting such links.
A successful strategy this year would be to focus more on relationship building and helping brands to develop solid links and contacts that will benefit them in the long run. Another important thing that you need to figure out is how you can involve guest blogs into your link building strategy. Earlier in the year, Google warned that it will now look more closely at guest blogs to control questionable and spammy links. So, you need to diversify things and aim for a thorough backlink profile instead of single links that offer successful results.
3. User Experience
As we move forward, Google is focusing more on user experience than anything else and it’s going to get more important this year and beyond. It’s been already made clear by Google that the focus should be on users and more websites should endeavor to offer a smooth user experience to the visitors. When websites offer better user experience, it increases users’ chances of engaging more with the web pages visited by them. Search engines also find it helpful in determining the web pages that offer greater value to the users so that they can be moved up the SERPs.
Some factors that help determine overall user experience include website’s speed, readability and navigation structure. Looking closely at browsing habits of the visitors can give you some helpful insights into how these metrics can be improved. These are only the top three trends to follow in 2018 to get your SEO right. There can be other things like AI & machine learning, featured snippets and quick answers that will be the big SEO trends this year and should be paid attention to. So, follow the trends and get things right to see your websites thrive.
